Eyewitness (1981)

Manhattan janitor Daryll Deever is fixated on hard-charging TV commentator, Tony Sokolow; he tapes her commentary daily to watch after work. When a wealthy Vietnamese man, with many shady ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Yates

Writer:

Steve Tesich

Stars:

William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Hurt	...	Daryll Deever
Sigourney Weaver	...	Tony Sokolow
Christopher Plummer	...	Joseph
James Woods	...	Aldo Mercer
Irene Worth	...	Mrs. Sokolow
Kenneth McMillan	...	Mr. Deever
Pamela Reed	...	Linda Mercer
Albert Paulsen	...	Mr. Sokolow
Steven Hill	...	Lieutenant Jacobs
Morgan Freeman	...	Lieutenant Black
Alice Drummond	...	Mrs. Eunice Deever
Sharon Goldman	...	Israeli Woman
Chao Li Chi	...	Mr. Long, International Trading Ltd. / Murder Victim
Keone Young	...	Mr. Long's Son
Dennis Sakamoto	...	Vietnamese Man #1

Storyline

Manhattan janitor Daryll Deever is fixated on hard-charging TV commentator, Tony Sokolow; he tapes her commentary daily to watch after work. When a wealthy Vietnamese man, with many shady connections, is murdered in the office building where Daryll works, Tony shows up to cover the story and Daryll introduce himself. She thinks he may know something, so she pursues him; he pretends he might to keep her interested. This romantic cat and mouse game goes on under the watchful eyes of the killers, who think that Daryll and Tony do know something. The killers start their own game of cat and mouse.

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Plot Keywords:

janitor | trash compactor | chase | stable | horse | 

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Taglines:

You're never more vulnerable than when you've seen too much.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Janitor

Filming Locations:

Central Park Lake, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,493,715 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to director Peter Yates, the script for the film was a hybrid of two screenplays that Steve Tesich had written and had gotten nowhere with either one. It was Yates who suggested that he combine the two scripts, Tesich originally balked at the idea, but finally gave in and this script was formed. Yates also said Tesich had trouble coming up with unusual plot twists because he cares more about character than plot when he writes.

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Goofs

There is a security camera very obviously placed in the outer office outside of where the murder takes place- yet nobody ever goes to view the tapes during the investigation

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Quotes

Lt. Jacobs: Whoever killed Long is a hero in my book.

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Connections

Spoofed in Hot Shots! (1991)

User Reviews

The end justifies the means....right?

Slightly offbeat murder yarn dealing with a pair of misfits who become involved in a murder which had nothing to do with either of them. This causes one of them to be targeted by an assassin who is involved in a love triangle between a woman and his intended victim. Strange film with a taut ending.